George Wallace was an American politician who served as the 45th Governor of Alabama. He was born on August 25, 1919, in Clio, Alabama, and died on September 13, 1998. Wallace is best known for his staunch segregationist views and his opposition to the civil rights movement in the United States.
Wallace first served as governor from 1963 to 1967 and then again from 1971 to 1979. He is notorious for his defense of racial segregation and his opposition to desegregation efforts during the 1960s. In 1963, he famously stood in the doorway of the University of Alabama to block the entry of African American students, in defiance of federal desegregation orders.
However, Wallace's views evolved over time, and in his later years, he publicly renounced his earlier segregationist stance. He made efforts to reach out to African American voters and sought their support in his later campaigns. Despite his controversial history, he remains a significant figure in American politics, particularly with regard to civil rights and the racial divisions that characterized the mid-20th century.